We wrote to the Director of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and the Director of the Armed Forces Hospital in Riyadh to find out more about what is involved in kidney dialysis and whether chemical substances are used, and whether it is regarded as a kind of nourishment.

They replied as follows: kidney dialysis involves taking the patient’s blood into a machine (an artificial kidney) which cleans it then returns it to the body. It also adds some chemical and nutrients such as sugars and salts etc. to the blood.

After studying the matter and discovering the nature of kidney dialysis with the help of some experts in the field, the Standing Committee issued a fatwa stating that kidney dialysis invalidates the fast.

And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about a person who undergoes kidney dialysis – does having his blood removed during the procedure invalidate his wudoo’? How should he fast and pray whilst having dialysis done, if that coincides with the time of prayer?

He replied:

With regard to wudoo’, it does not invalidate wudoo’, because the correct scholarly view is that what comes out of the body does not invalidate wudoo’ unless it comes out of either the front or back passage. Whatever comes out of those two passages invalidates wudoo’, whether it is urine, stools or wind. Everything that comes out of the two passages invalidates wudoo’.

With regard to that which comes out of anywhere other than the two passages, such as a nosebleed that comes out of the nose, or blood that comes out of a wound, and so on, it does not invalidate wudoo’ whether in small or large quantities. Based on this, kidney dialysis does not invalidate wudoo’.

With regard to prayer, the patient can join Zuhr and ‘Asr, and Maghrib and ‘Isha’. He can plan his schedule with his doctor, to make sure that the dialysis will not take more than half the day, so that he will not miss praying Zuhr and ‘Asr on time. He can say to him, for example: Schedule the dialysis in the early afternoon, giving me enough time to pray Zuhr and ‘Asr, or bring it forward so that I will be able to pray Zuhr and ‘Asr (afterwards), before the time for ‘Asr ends. What matters is that it is permissible to combine the prayers without delaying them. Based on this it is essential to plan one’s schedule with one’s doctor.

With regard to fasting, we are not sure about that. Sometimes I would say that it is not like cupping, because with cupping blood is taken and not returned to the body, and this invalidates the fast as it says in the hadeeth. In dialysis blood is taken from the body, cleaned and returned to the body. But I am concerned that dialysis involves some nutrients which take the place of food and drink. If that is the case then it does invalidate the fast. In that case if this is a lifelong condition with no hope of recovery, then he should feed one poor person for each day. But if it happens intermittently, then he should not fast when he is undergoing dialysis and make up that day later on.

But if the substances that are mixed with the blood do not include nutrients, rather they simply cleanse the blood, then this does not break the fast. In this case he may use dialysis even if he is fasting. He should refer to the doctors about this matter.

Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 20/113.

In conclusion:

A person who is suffering from kidney failure should not fast on the days when he has dialysis, then if he can make up the fast he should do so. If he cannot make up the fasts because he is elderly and cannot fast, then he should not fast and should feed one poor person for each day.

By the arenas of dawah, we mean the different locations wherein one can perform dawah, since performing dawah to the way of Allah is not limited to the Masjid or to any other particular place; among those locations are the following:

1] Private locations, whereby the Da’i betakes himself to a specific person, to his home or otherwise, and then invite him to the way of Allah, expressing his message in as clear a manner as possible and following a specific order.

2] Important places, so the Da’i can call people in the Masjids, places of gatherings, such as gathering places during Hajj; or social clubs, coffee shops, restaurants and so on. One calls in that place which is most suitable to the occasion and need. This is why Prophet Muhammed [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] would present himself to the tribes during their festivals and business gatherings, calling them to the way of Allah. Imam Ahmed related that Rabi’a ibn Ibad al-Daili [radiAllahu anhu] said:

“I saw the Prophet Muhammed [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] in the market place pf Al-Majaz, and he was saying, ‘O people, say: none has the right to be worshiped but Allah, and you will succeed.’

[Musnad 3/492, 4/341]

In another hadith, Jabir [radiAllahu anhu] said:

“The Prophet [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] would present himself to the people at Al-Mawqif [during the Hajj session], and he used to say, ‘Is there a man who will carry me to his people, for the Quraish has prevented me from conveying the speech of my Lord.'”

About this narration, ibn Kathir said: Each of the compilers of four sunan related it, and al-Tirmidhi said, “Hasan sahih”.

Ibn Ishaq said,

“This was the way of the messenger of Allah [sallallahu alaihi wasallam]: every time people gathered during Hajj session, he would go the tribes, calling them to the way of Allah and to Islam. He would present himself as well as guidance and mercy he came with from Allah. Whenever he heard that a person of name and status among the Arabs was coming to Makkah, he would accost him, inviting him to the way of Allah and presenting to him the message he was sent with.”

3] Places of study: the Da’i can call others at institute, schools, and universities either by way of open lectures and symposiums or by way of lessons in a classroom setting. Through his words while he is delivering a lecture, the teacher who is sincere to his religion is able to call others to the way of Allah. Since a teacher is supposed to be role model for others, he can invite his students to Islam by setting a positive example through his worship, his good dealings and so on. The deeds and manners of a teacher leave a permanent imprint on the minds of his students, and the effects of that become manifest later on in their deeds and manners.

Fortune-telling (soothsaying) is claimed to be seeking the truth; in pursuit of that claim, fortune-tellers employ baseless means. In the Jahili (pre-Islamic) period, fortune telling was a profession of some people in contact with devils. Those devils tried to eavesdrop whatever they could in the heavens, then communicate it to fortune-tellers, who add to it and communicate it to people. If this coincidentally agrees with what actually occurs, people are misled to believe in those fortune-tellers and consider them credible references for judgments and predicting the future, hence the common definition of the fortune-teller as the one who foretells the future.

Regarding consulting fortune-tellers, there are three forms of relationship:

In one form, people consult the fortune-teller, but they do not believe him. This is forbidden, and it is a punishable offence as mentioned in the Hadith, ―If one consults a soothsayer, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days.

In another form, people consult the fortune-teller and believe him. This is Kufr (disbelief in Allah), because they believe the fortune-teller‘s claim to know the unseen, which is denial of Allah‘s saying, ―Say (O Muhammad): None in the heavens and the earth knoweth the Unseen save Allah. That is why the Hadith states, ―Whoever consults a soothsayer and believes what he says disbelieves in what has been revealed to Muhammad.

In the third form, some people go to the fortune-teller and pretend to be consulting him so that they can expose him, his mischief and his deceptive ways to the public. There is no objection to doing that, as verified by the incident of Ibn Sayyadh; the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had something on his mind for him, and asked him if he knew what it was. Ibn-Sayyadh replied, ―It is Addukh (smoke). The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to him, ―Scram! Never will you go beyond your limits.

Thus, only the third approach to fortune-tellers is acceptable, for it exposes their despicable reality, whereas the first two are forbidden.

Is it true that there were attempts to bewitch the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم?

Answer:

According to Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and other books of Hadith, it is true, but the magic could not affect divine revelations or Shari‘ah matters. All what that magic could do was that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم imagined having done something he had not actually done. That magic was the work of a Jew called Lubaid Ibn-Al-A‘sam. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was cured of it when Allah revealed it to him and gave him protection by Al-Falaq and An-Nas Suras. Regarding prophet-hood, the magic had no effect on the Prophet‘s صلى الله عليه وسلم behavior concerning revelations or acts of worship.

There are those who deny the bewitchment of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. They argue that if accepted, the bewitchment incident could be taken to support the accusation, ―”Ye are but following a man bewitched”. [Al-Baqara Sura, Ayah 102].

However, the incident does not necessitate agreement with those who describe the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم as bewitched, for their accusation is directed towards the divine revelations, which they consider as nonsensical utterances made by someone under the influence of magic. As for the magic done unto the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, it had no effect on divine revelations or acts of worship. Misinterpretation of the incident by some should not oblige us to dismiss it as unreal.

Question: Is executing the sorcerer a penalty for apostasy or for a criminal offence?

Answer: It can be a punishment for apostasy or for a criminal offence. This depends on the previous verdict regarding the sorcerer‘s status.

If he is judged as a Kafir (disbeliever), he is penalized by death for apostasy; if not, he is penalized by death for a criminal offence. In either case the sorcerer must be executed because of the graveness of his crimes.

For instance, he seeks to destroy the lives of husbands and wives. He also seeks to have people enslaved under the influence of magic so that he can carry out his evil designs on them, e.g., commit adultery with a bewitched woman. Because of such serious crimes, he has to be executed without advising him to repent, for he has committed legally punishable crimes.

However, if the sorcerer‘s activities are considered acts of Kufr, he is to be advised to repent. This reflects the problem created by classifying apostasy among criminal offences, for, if one heeds the advice and repents of apostasy, he is pardoned. Also, punishment for criminal acts is a kind of atonement for the criminal who is a Muslim, not a Kafir. In contrast, apostasy is not atonable, so whoever is punished for it must not have a Muslim burial, and must not be buried in Muslim burial grounds.

Thus, the death penalty for sorcerers is consistent with Shari‘ah, for they are up to nothing but destructive corruption. Therefore, by executing them, people are saved from their danger and are deterred from practising witchcraft.

To establish the religion means to apply it in an upright manner, according to what Allah has legislated. And Allah has forbidden us from division because division poses a great threat to the Muslim nation.

Division represents painful and saddening situation:

“And do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart.” [Quran 8:46]

When the people are divided and when they dispute with one another, they lose courage, they fail, their strength departs, and they have no weight or importance.

Division among Muslims pleases the enemies of Islam, including those who ascribe themselves to Islam openly but inwardly harbour hatred towards Islam and those who are outwardly as well as inwardly enemies of Islam. These are the ones that ignites the flames of division, the one who sow dissensions among those who call to the way of Allah. It is incumbent upon us to make a stand, resisting the plots of those who show enmity to Allah, to His Messenger [sallallahu alaihi wasallam], and to His religion. We must be as one hand – brothers united upon Allah’s book and the Prophet’s Sunnah, as were our pious predecessors in their methodology and in their Dawah to Allah.

Division among Muslims is the greater joy of devils from mankind and the jinn, because devils do not want the people of truth to unite upon anything. They want Muslims to divide because they know that division the strength that is realized through a unified stance – one of the obedience to Allah. Allah says:

“And do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart.” [Quran 8:46]

And Allah says:

“And do not be like the ones who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. And those will have a great punishment.” [Quran 3:105]

And Allah says:

“He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus – to establish the religion and not be divided therein.” [Quran 42:13]

Allah forbade us from becoming divided and clarified the detrimental consequences of division. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to truly be one nation, upon one word, even if our views differ in certain issues or regarding certain means of making Dawah. Division is an evil that brings about weakness.

The companions differed among themselves in certain issues, but they were not divided, nor did they harbour enmity or hatred towards one another. Difference of opinion occurred among them even during the life time of Prophet [Sallallahu alaihi wasallam]. For example, the Prophet [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] said to his companions:

“Let no one from you pray Asr , except in Bani Quraydhah [i.e., until you reach bani Quraydhah]” [Al- bukhari 946]

The companions were leaving Al-Madina and heading to Bani Quraydhah. When the time for the Asr was drawing to an end, the companions differed among themselves. Some among them said, “We will only pray Asr in Bani Quraydhah, even if the Sun sets, for the Messenger of Allah [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] said: “”Let no one from you pray Asr , except in Bani Quraydhah [i.e., until you reach bani Quraydhah].” So we say, ‘We heard and obeyed.’

Others among them said, “Verily, the Prophet [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] intended by that [statement] that we should hasten and travel quickly. Nonetheless, if the time for prayer draws near, we will pray it on time.” News of what happened reached Prophet Muhammed [sallallahu alaihi wasallam], and he did not censure any of them, nor did he scold anyone from the two groups for their particular interpretation of his command. And they themselves did not become divided due to the different way in which each group understood the Prophet’s hadeeth. Similarly, it is compulsory upon us to not become divided; instead, we should be one nation.

The solution to the problem of disunity lies in us following the way of the companions. We should realize that differences that are brought about because of Ijtihad (deriving a ruling from revealed texts when revealed texts do not clearly establish a given ruling), in issues wherein Ijtihad is permissible, should affect our unity in a negative way. In such issues, each one of us takes what he feels is supported by the strongest proofs, so none of us should feel any rancor for his brother; instead, we should praise our brother for following what he feels to be the strongest proofs.

If one of us were to force another to take our opinion, then I, for instance, would not be more worthy of forcing my brother to accept my opinion than he is of forcing me to accept his opinion. Therefore, we should agree to disagree in issues wherein the disagreement is based on Ijtihad, so that we become united and so that good results.

If our intentions are pure and good, then the remedy for problems pertaining to disunity is easily applied. But if our intentions are not good and pure, with each person becoming self-absorbed in his opinions, while not caring about others, then success will become far off indeed.

Allah ordered His slave to unite:

“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]. And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided.” [Quran 3:102,103]

A Useful Point

One might say,

“If the one who disagrees with us is an innovator (i.e., one who innovates in Religion), then how should we deal with him?”

My answer: Innovations are classified into two categories:

1) An Innovation that makes its perpetrator a disbeliever

2) An Innovation that does not makes its perpetrator a disbeliever

Regardless of whether one – one from those who ascribe themselves to Islam – is upon the first or second kind of Innovation, we must invite him to the truth, by means of clarifying the truth, and not by means of attacking the way he is following, which we only resort to after we come to know that he is too proud to accept the truth. Allah said to the Prophet:

“And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah , lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge.” [Quran 6:108]

First we call an innovator to the truth by clarifying it through the mention of proofs; after all, the truth is acceptable to those who are upon a sound and undistorted nature. If we find that an innovator persists upon falsehood because of his pride, we then move on to clarifying his falsehood.

As for breaking off ties with an innovator; doing so depends on his innovation. If his innovation takes him outside the fold of Islam, then it is obligatory upon us to dissociate ourselves from him. If his innovation is of lesser kind, then we study his situation: if, by breaking off ties with him, there is some benefit to be achieved, then we break off ties with him. But if there is no benefit to be achieved by breaking off ties with him, we do not do so, because the basic principle in Islam is that it is forbidden to break ties with a believer. The Prophet [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] said:

“It is not permissible for a believing man to break off ties with his brother for more than 3 days.” [Al-Bukhari 6077]

Therefore, it is forbidden to part company with a believer – even though he may be an evildoer – unless there is some benefit in doing so. If there is some benefit to be derived from breaking of all the ties with him, then that is what we do, because doing so becomes a remedy. But if there is no benefit or if the innovator increases in his falsehood and rebelliousness due to our parting company from him, then the following rules applies: :As for a matter that is bereft of benefit, forsaking it becomes the |deed of| benefit.”

When we see much evil being perpetrated around us, and when we see the menacing strength of those who oppose the truth, we should not lose hope, thinking that the betterment of this Nation is beyond our grasp. Ibn al-Qayyim[rahimahullah] expressed the same meaning in verse form:

The truth is aided but tested as well, so do not fall into a state of wonder, for this is the Sunnah [way] of the Most Merciful.

In this World, the struggle between the truth and falsehood is is as inevitable as it is necessary:

And thus have We made for every prophet an enemy from among the criminals. But sufficient is your Lord as a guide and a helper. [25:31]

The evildoers want to misguide people by blinding them from the truth. They want to subjugate people, effectively silencing them, but Allah says:

But sufficient is your Lord as a guide and a helper. [25:31]

It is not permissible for us to lose hope. We must be patient and wait, for in the end, success and victory are for the righteous believers who fear Allah. There are those who want to transform the righteous thinking of the youth into vile and wicked thinking, and to realize this aim, they strive tirelessly, working not only to instill doubts into the minds of the youth, but also to hinder them from the truth they are upon. But they, as well as every person who strives against the truth, will be afflicted with defeat and ruin, , for Allah aids His religion and His Book.

It is necessary for a da’i to be very positive regarding the success and continuation of his da’wah. A positive attitude acts as a strong impetus for one to continue making Da’wah; for one to continue striving and keeping his efforts alive. Conversely, hopelessness causes failure and delay in one’s Da’wah.

In this regard, one does well to contemplate the positive attitude of the Prophet [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] and his farsightedness, even on the most difficult day for him in calling his people; the day he [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] returned from Al-Taif, after having called them to the way of Allah. They had rejected his message, and they had urged the foolish ones among them to inflict harm upon the Prophet [sallallahu alaihi wasallam]. When the Prophet [sallallahu alaihi wasallam] reached Qarnuth-Tha’alib, Jibreel [alaihis Salam] called him, saying:

I lifted my head towards the sky to see a cloud shading me unexpectedly. I looked up and saw within it Jibreel. He called me saying: “Allah has heard what your people have been saying to you, and how they have disputed you. Allah has sent the Angel of the Mountains to you so that you may order him to do whatever you wish to these people.”

The Angel of the Mountains called and greeted me, and then said: “O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will cause the two mountains to fall upon them.”

I said: “No, for I hope that Allah will bring forth from their progeny people who will worship Allah Alone, and none besides Him.”

Our Other Blogs

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said:

"If a man comes out of his house carrying a burden of sins like the mountains of Tihamah, then when he hears some knowledge he fears Allah and repents, he will go back home with no sins on him.
So do not forsake the gatherings of the scholars."
[Miftah Dar as-Sa’adah, 1/122; Fara’id al-Kalam, p. 135.]

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